Read Online Swords and Shields (Reign of the House of de Winter) by Kathryn Le Veque - Free Book Online Page A

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    “You shall not,” she said, although she moved away from him. “You would have me marry a sword, Father? I find that shocking and without honor.”
    Christian was about to verbally lash his daughter when Devereux stepped in. Woman to woman, she could not let the slander against Drake go unanswered, no matter how poorly her son was behaving. What two fathers could not do, one mother could.
    “My lady, you have brought up honor many times,” she said, maneuvering herself in front of Davyss to face the very beautiful but, evidently, very spoiled young woman. “It is evident that you do not understand what honor entails if you so freely slander my son without knowing anything about him. It is clear you have no honor yourself to display such horrific manners in front of a host of people who have come to witness your marriage, which I am not entirely sure will happen now given the insults you have dealt both the House of de Winter and my son.”
    Elizaveta sized up the woman in front of her. She was older, but still quite lovely and it was very clear she was formidable. That was evident the moment she opened her mouth to speak. Elizaveta didn’t want to get into a verbal battle with the woman and struggled to control her tongue.
    “Lady de Winter, I presume?” she asked.
    Devereux nodded, once. Elizaveta continued. “My lady, surely you cannot condone the fact that your son has decided not to attend his own wedding,” she said, sounding less angry and more pleading. “I cannot imagine he is ill enough that he cannot make this ceremony. I have traveled for a solid month to be in Norfolk for a wedding I did not ask for, yet I am here. Surely your son could drag himself from his sick bed to show me a small measure of respect for the fact that we will be joined for life. Is that too much to ask, my lady?”
    Devereux regarded the woman, feeling her offence against the girl waver just the slightest. As young as Elizaveta was at this moment, Devereux was much the same those years ago when Davyss refused to show up for their wedding. In truth, she couldn’t become too angry at the girl and she almost laughed when she realized that, at this moment, she was taking on much the role as Davyss’ mother had. Well did Devereux remember the confrontation between Lady Katharine de Winter and herself, where Devereux declared she wanted nothing to do with marriage to a de Winter and Lady Katharine had quickly put her in her place.
    These circumstances weren’t much different and it was difficult not to feel pity for the du Reims girl. Back in the days of Devereux’s marriage to Davyss, Lady Katharine had covered for Davyss at the time, knowing Davyss was watching the entire exchange in the shadows. Lady Katharine had never given her son away, not even at the end of the conversation when she’d left the church. The entire time, Davyss had watched the exchange. It had made him very curious about the woman he was to marry to the point where he actually came forward and revealed himself. But Drake wasn’t lingering in the shadows like his father had been. He was sitting, carefree and happy, over at Thetford Castle, laughing that he did not have to attend his own wedding. Perhaps that inflamed Devereux in the slightest. Frankly, perhaps it inflamed her a lot.
    Drake would not have the last laugh in all of this.
    “Come with me,” Devereux said.
    Snatching Elizaveta by the wrist, she yanked the girl into the old church as the others stood by and watched, open-mouthed. Devereux turned around upon entering the cool, dim church and pointed to her husband.
    “Close these doors,” she commanded. “Do not open them until I tell you to.”
    Davyss, his eyebrows raised in concern at his wife’s actions, nonetheless did as he was told. He and Dallan closed the heavy church doors, ancient things carved from ancient oak, despite the protests of not only Christian du Reims but also of his wife, who suddenly found her voice and began